1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data processing. More particularly, embodiments are provided for searching content in frames.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the popularity of the Internet has grown dramatically. One reason for such growth is the accessibility of voluminous information including text, audio and video.
In general, the information available from the Internet (and some other networks) is in the form of electronic documents. In the context of the World Wide Web (a particularly useful aspect of the Internet), a website is made up of one or more electronic documents located on a given host. All websites taken together constitute the World Wide Web (WWW). A Web document is located at an address represented by a URL, and may reside on a user's own computer, or on another computer networked with the user's computer. In particular, the document may reside on a networked computer (called a host) with an Internet address.
Once a Web page is made available on the World Wide Web via a server, any client connected to the World Wide Web can access the page using a software interface known as a browser. Access is typically accomplished by typing the URL in the appropriate browser field (or retrieving the address from a file, such as a bookmark file). After the URL has been entered, the browser requests the server to send the HTML file.
Web documents are generally formatted in a markup language such as HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Wireless Markup Language (WML). Such markup languages describe document appearance, document layout and hyperlink specifications. A markup language defines the syntax that describes the structure and the content of a document including text, images, and other supported media. Using markup language, a Web page can be created which contain, bitmap images, graphic images, text of various styles and sizes, and other formatting attributes and contents.
One formatting tool made available by markup languages, such as HTML, is a “frame.” Frames are formatting features allowing a browser window to be divided into multiple display areas, each containing a different document. A frame may contain any valid content that a browser is capable of displaying, including multimedia. If a frame's contents include a hypertext link the user selects, the new document's contents may replace that same frame, another frame's content, or the entire browser window. Frames are defined in a special HTML document in which the <body> tag is replaced with one or more <frameset> tags that tell the browser how to divide its main window into discrete frames. Special <frame> tags go inside the <frameset> tag and point to the documents that go inside the frames.
A problem occurs when a user desires to search for text in a window containing multiple frames. Because each frame in a window is essentially an independent, non-overlapping electronic document, the user must first select one frame to be searched. Selection is typically made by clicking on a frame with a mouse pointer. Once a frame has been selected, the user enters search string into a dialog box, typically invoked by a “find text” menu item. The user may also select other search criteria, such as searching only uppercase words or making the search case insensitive. The content of the selected frame is then searched for text matching the search terms and criteria.
In some cases, inexperienced users may be unfamiliar with the foregoing frame selection requirement necessary for a frame search. As a result, users become frustrated with the inability to invoke the “find text” dialog box. Even if the find function is available, the user may have unwittingly selected the wrong frame to search. Even experienced users find it inconvenient to select a frame manually prior to initiating a search.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for facilitating frame content searches within a multiple frames environment.